NBA Rogue Referee

For years, I've felt like the NBA refs were the sixth, seventh and eighth men on the court--especially at the end of quarters and games. So egregious have been some calls, they're seared into my memory. It is a big reason I've found professional basketball ridiculous since the post-Magic-Bird era. I won't go down that rant road right now.

My brother sent me this story which just confirms my suspicions. Is the NBA sure there's only one rogue ref?

July 20, 2007 -- THE FBI is investigating an NBA referee who allegedly was betting on basketball games - including ones he was officiating during the past two seasons - as part of an organized-crime probe in the Big Apple, The Post has learned.

The investigation, which began more than a year ago, is zeroing in on blockbuster allegations that the referee was making calls that affected the point spread to guarantee that he - and the hoods who had their hooks in him - cashed in on large bets.

Federal agents are set to arrest the referee and a cadre of mobsters and their associates who lined their pockets, sources said.

"These are dangerous people [the referee] was involved with," a source said.

One source close to the probe counted the number of games on which the ref and his wiseguy buddies scored windfalls in the "double digits."

One more reason to avoid the NBA.